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Splinter Cell Blacklist (anti)hype thread | Experience All 5 Stages of Ironside Loss

AJ_Wings

Member
Animations are really fantastic. Surprisingly so.

Also, didn't know you could M&E with non-lethal weapons. That's an interesting addition.
 

Ashtar

Member
Whoa you are doing yourself a huge disservice for skipping Chaos Theory. Don't think Blacklist will top it but it will come closer than Double Agent or Conviction. Those two are fairly skippable, although Conviction you should play to get into its groove because they are pretty much working off that now. I would definitely recommend playing Chaos Theory sometime in your lifetime.

If you have a halfway decent PC it should come up on sale for less than 3.50$ when the Steam Sale hits on Thursday and whenever the Tom Clancy games get featured. That or I'm sure there's a way to get a copy for 360 (It's a Xbox title from 2005). If you really insist or just glossing it over there are few people who've done pretty much 100% walkthroughs of the game, but that never comes close to playing it. Especially not Chaos Theory.
How is the HD remake esp compared to playing the old school xbox version.....
HD is like 17 and the game alone is 5 (for OG) but I already played through the first 2 Splinter Cells
What do you suggest?
 

Sober

Member
How is the HD remake esp compared to playing the old school xbox version.....
HD is like 17 and the game alone is 5 (for OG) but I already played through the first 2 Splinter Cells
What do you suggest?
Googling the wikia: http://splintercell.wikia.com/wiki/Tom_Clancy's_Splinter_Cell_Trilogy looks like a typical Ubi HD rerelease which is just port the PC version assets instead.

maybe stick with the OG version, the PS3 HD trilogy doesn't have MP (I assume that means you also lose co-op from Chaos Theory). The game looks fantastic regardless.
 

danielcw

Member
Could the PC version have (slightly) different content?

after watching this German Ubsioft video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqXhYv38hNY
I saw that the cosnole versions (WiiU, 360, PS3) are rated USK18 for Germany, while the PC version has no rating yet. And now I wonder, why the PC version wasn't rated together with the other versions. Or is it just running late?
 

Gun Animal

Member
I've never played a splinter cell game before but I love Metal Gear. The main thing that turns me off of Splinter Cell is that the plot seems like the usual American jingoism that you'd see in COD or something. Is the story really as bad as it looks from a distance? Is it worth getting into the series this late?
 

Router

Hopsiah the Kanga-Jew
After the awful initial showing of this game I have become surprisingly optimistic over the last few months. Looking forward to trying it out.
 

Duxxy3

Member
If I was a deaf person I wouldn't notice, but the change in voice actor really does kill off any interest I would have in the game.
 

SpyGuy239

Member
Am I the only one who really misses the uniqueness of the black and white night vision goggles from the original splinter cells?

P.S. great thread OP. you should market this for ubisoft. The E3 trailer was a poorly cut piece of crap
 

Sober

Member
So it's pretty much been confirmed the single player campaign is 13 missions. So pretty much on par since other SC games have sat around the 10-12 mission format, so expect maybe similar mission lengths. Hopefully longer than Conviction, which was actually 11 missions but didn't really feel that long.

http://gamingbolt.com/splinter-cell-blacklist-biggest-splinter-cell-game-weve-ever-created-ubisoft

“This is the biggest Splinter Cell game we’ve ever created and there is a huge amount of content between the immersive SP experience, Co-op with the 4th Echelon missions, the legendary Spies Versus Mercs multiplayer and of course our universal economy and customization system in the game. The single player campaign features 13 exciting levels that immerse the player in a thrilling modern story ripped from today’s headlines,” he assured us.

So each part of the game is about the same size. 13 SP, 14 Co-op (with maybe 9 or so playable solo) and 6 SvM maps (12 if you count their different variations for BL and Classic modes).
 

Sober

Member
This is actually probably a better preview of Blacklist than I could ever come up with.

http://www.pcgamesn.com/hands-splinter-cell-blacklist-sort

splintercellblacklistc5.png
 

Darmik

Member
I have to admit, the more I'm hearing about this game the more I'm sold by it. I'm actually looking forward to it now.

Still baffling why they didn't ditch Sam Fisher for a new character. He's not going to feel like Sam Fisher anyway and at least that method would open the door for a cameo in the future.
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
This is actually probably a better preview of Blacklist than I could ever come up with.

http://www.pcgamesn.com/hands-splinter-cell-blacklist-sort

This is hilarious. "We are the Blacklist" Give us the Blacklist or we'll release the Blacklist!"

Glad to hear SvM is holding up even if you're in a delirious, near-death state. Single-player Splinter Cell stopped being good after Chaos Theory, so it'll be a nice bonus if Sam and his Aeroplane Friends actually provide some entertainment while I wait for my buddies to get hold of this.
 

Ominym

Banned
Anyone else really confused that Kobin would be in 4th Echelon? I mean, the dude smoked Archer and Kestrel. They couldn't have put Victor Coste in there instead?

- Said the one person ever who cared about Splinter Cell's story. Before you ask, no, I don't know why I do either.
 

Sober

Member
Anyone else really confused that Kobin would be in 4th Echelon? I mean, the dude smoked Archer and Kestrel. They couldn't have put Victor Coste in there instead?

- Said the one person ever who cared about Splinter Cell's story. Before you ask, no, I don't know why I do either.
If you want spoilerish stuff about them in Blacklist:

-Vic
is injured in Guam which is why Fisher is back with 4E to begin with. Other people say he flies the Paladin which doesn't sound right though
.

-Kobin
has info on the Blacklist targets or attacks or people who are supplying stuff to them or whatever which is why the first mission after the tutorial involves you rescuing him
.
 

Misuta

Member
After watching the trailers I must say that I'm really looking forward to this game. August 23rd can't come soon enough. Too bad I can't decide if I should get the 360 or PC version. :(
 

Ominym

Banned
If you want spoilerish stuff about them in Blacklist:

-Vic
is injured in Guam which is why Fisher is back with 4E to begin with. Other people say he flies the Paladin which doesn't sound right though
.

-Kobin
has info on the Blacklist targets or attacks or people who are supplying stuff to them or whatever which is why the first mission after the tutorial involves you rescuing him
.

Huh, fair enough I guess. Thank you.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
RPS got their hands on it and at least from a single player viewpoint, it's sounding pretty grim.

The second mission also had problems. This time it was a wander through Benghazi in the daytime. I get the impression that the story missions for Blacklist will be focussed, with what I experienced feeling more like first-person shooter levels than a stealth game: dragging the player through corridors and into open areas filled with guards. An ever-present dot on the HUD was leading me onwards, not really letting me revel in the space provided. When it tried to get more interesting, it did so clumsily. The ending of that mission was a short but tedious fight against waves of guards.

But singleplayer has problems: whether it’s a big glowing icon dragging you on, or a ridiculous selection of trousers in the inventory, there’s something demanding about Blacklist. A need to hurry the player along. I miss the calm, Michael Ironside-voiced Sam, sat in the dark, complaining about everything.

Bleh.
 

Sober

Member
RPS got their hands on it and at least from a single player viewpoint, it's sounding pretty grim.

Bleh.
That sounds terrible. No, really. Because they pretty much assured the fans that Benghazi's "finale" could be played stealth so either 1) it wasn't compiled for this preview build and LOL it's just almost 30 days to release, where is it? or 2) the staff didn't know or let any press know about it. How is there supposed to be a no-kills achievement/trophy if they face you off with waves on the first real mission?

Benghazi is supposed to be the first actual mission, so I'm not entirely worried about it being a poor mission if it's any indicator (Chaos Theory's first mission was a fairly linear affair too). That being said if later missions the spaces don't open up, that will be a damn shame, but looking at the recent July 1st previews it seems okay since those are a bit later into the game. (Chicago, Panama from SP were previewed)

There is a mission in Panama that involves you breaking into a panic room in an estate and dragging that person out. If they cannot pull that off to even be as half as good as the Bank mission in Chaos Theory then I guess, well ... poop. By that I mean have the mission be completely almost entirely open as fuck and involve you basically running around retrieving information and stripping away at the security systems bit-by-bit to get to the chewy center. Have that without too much gating of areas in the map (which was one of the wonders of SCCT levels like Bank, Displace, Hokkaido, Bathhouse)

That being said Splinter Cell levels have been fairly linear affairs even if they were really open in Chaos Theory. A few of them were just one open environment you could play around with but most of them were mostly a bunch of connected sandboxes instead of a much larger one. As long as they keep that mix or change the pace with a big hefty open mission it should be okay even if for all intents and purposes we all know they will be bookended by linear affairs because **~cinematic hollywood storytelling~**
 

FACE

Banned
Those aren’t direct effects, though. That would be ludicrous. No, they’re purchases that Sam can make while he’s flying around in his plane. It makes perfect sense in context: Terrorists, known as the Blacklist, are holding the US to ransom. They’ll commit an act of awfulness every week until the US basically wipes out its worldwide military presence. They are confusingly named Blacklist, because of reasons. This is a threat forces Sam into the position of leader of Fourth Echelon, the spy group he’s had an on-and-off relationship with from the first game. As leader he has perks: Sam, his team, and his informants fly around in a plane, moving from place to place like Scooby Doo in what’s basically an upgradeable, flying warehouse of espionage. It’s obvious if you think about it.

This sounds amazingly stupid.
 
I want to finish Conviction before I get this. I think I'm near the end..I think I'll just put it on Easy and run through to the end.

I'm outside the White House..Am I close?
 

rugioh

Banned
Ughhh I'm getting less and less enthusiastic for single player as more news is released. Hopefully spies vs. mercs keeps its integrity though
 

netBuff

Member
While I'm really disliking everything I've seen, heard and read about this game so far I think I'm too big a Splinter Cell fan to let this latest iteration pass me by: Do we know yet whether this game will be part of the PS3 "Day One Digital" program? Or is it retail only for the time being.
 

Sober

Member
New trailer! Have some more helpings of that Hollywood sauce!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WTARYvWRWac

Honestly I think it is hilarious watching the official forums just go absolutely batshit insane with the latest previews. I think ubi's plan to try to appeal to them isn't working as they had hoped because they all live in their own little bubble. There really isn't any perspective there when they get their panties in a wad when RockPaperShotgun of all places wrote a less than favorable preview (seriously some of them suggested they should just ignore RPS altogether). Or when a preview video shows up and it isn't played the way they would because ~my special snowflake brand of stealth~. That and they really aren't trying to argue anything else anywhere but on their forums, so anything worth talking about ever leaves the forums.

I think they had plenty of content that was specifically tailored for them. Sure there are those who actually have tried it in person who still are enthusiastic about it, but it seems like even that isn't enough to keep most of them happy. Trailers too action-y? I dont think they know how video game trailers work. Right now they are super pissed off because only one mission has you wearing balaclavas or that the trailers showed off too much action stuff where the enemy spots you through cutscenes. Then they start making up some ridiculously bad gameplay style names because Ghost/Panther/Assault wasn't enough and they have to name every point on the gradient.

So there is maybe some legitimate complaints in there somewhere but having to find it is extremely tedious when 90% of the previews out there for public consumption isn't tailored for them like that Sneaky Bastards article was or literally everything they've done for their expense on the forums/at their events.

Verdict is still out for me though; obviously you don't really take any impressions the general gaming press too seriously on say, the actual merits of the moment-to-moment stealth gameplay and how it is implemented but if they have issues or are a bit self-aware of the obvious RPG-ness of the game or making Mass Effect comparisons with the way the hub works, well because it is pretty obvious. Each version of the same vertical slice of the game is entirely different and each side has their blind spots (some intentional, some not) when looking at the game. Just no one has tried to stitch them together yet. Well, I've tried to anyway.
 

Sober

Member
Looks like the achievement list is up. Spoilers abound, obviously. The list also reveals some new SvM modes, Uplink and Extraction but no one has talked about it yet. C''mon guys, one month to go. Show us something substantial now ....

List looks a bit incomplete, doesn't seem like there are the same number of SP story achievements as there are confirmed levels (13) which is a little odd.

Achievements list said:
DEM SUPER SECRET CHEEOVS said:
Asset Retrieval
Completed Safehouse

Ambush Escaped
Completed Insurgent Stronghold

American Consumption Prevented
Completed American Consumption

Terrorist Factor Turned
Completed Private Estate

Tracker Placed
Completed Abandoned Mill

Iranian Intel Retrieved
Completed Special Missions HQ

American Freedom Averted
Completed Transit Yards

Infiltration/Interrogation
Completed Detention Facility

Paladin Restored
Survived the attack on Paladin

American Fuel Engaged
Completed LNG Terminal

Hunter Operator
Completed all of
Andriy Kobin's
4th Echelon Missions"

4th Echelon Status Confirmed
Stopped the Blacklist

4th Echelon Commendation
Completed every single player mission on Realistic difficulty

4th Echelon Officer
Completed every single player mission on Perfectionist difficulty

HVTs Secured
Captured 20 High-Value Targets

Intel Acquired
Collected 24 Dead Drop flash drives

Data Security
Hacked 23 Blacklist Laptops

Upgraded Gear Accessed
Fully upgraded one gun

C&C Optimized
Paladin fully upgraded

Tactical Style: Ghost
Mastered Ghost playstyle

Tactical Style: Panther
Mastered Panther playstyle

Tactical Style: Assault
Mastered Assault playstyle

Evidence Concealed
Hid 5 bodies in containers

No Kill Option Engaged
Completed the single player campaign without killing anyone as Sam Fisher

Distraction Tactician
Stealthily took down an enemy who'd been lured by sound

Tri-Rotor Functionality
Used the Tri-Rotor to disable a security device

Enhanced Lethality Demonstrated
Mastered Mark & Execute

Hostile Shield Secured
Snuck up & stole the shield from a Shielded Infantryman

Hostages Secured
Saved the hostages in the Transit Yards

Mission Footprint Zero
Completed a single player mission undetected

Combined Op Successful
Completed a COOP mission with a teammate

Infiltration Operator
Completed all of Anna Grímsdóttir's 4th Echelon Missions

Extraction Operator
Completed all of Charlie Cole's 4th Echelon Missions

Combined Operator
Completed all of Isaac Briggs 's 4th Echelon Missions

Elite Killing Team
Dual Executed a helmeted enemy

Lead Interrogator
Won the COOP interrogation in VORON Station

ShadowNet Online
Logged into ShadowNet for the first time

Officer of the Day
Completed a Daily Challenge

Seven Day Duty Shift
Completed a Spies vs Mercs Weekly Challenge

Support Ops
Assisted teammates in 10 Spies vs Mercs objectives

Lethal Versatility
Won a match in every Spies vs Mercs game mode

Firearm Accessed
Unlocked a Merc's Light Machine Gun

Personal Kit
Unlocked a custom loadout slot for Spy or Merc

Trusted Agent
Achieved Rank 10 in Spies vs Mercs

Rated Hacker
Hacked a terminal in a Spies vs Mercs SvM Blacklist or SvM Classic match

Rated Intel Courier
Carried home the intel in a Spies vs Mercs Extraction match

Rated Aggressor
Captured a control point in a Spies vs Mercs Uplink Control match

Otherwise looks like some pretty standard fare. The no-kills achievement is on the list (no kills in SP) and there is a no detection one (but just for a single mission) so whatever that could mean, add some hyperbole to that!

They were also doing SvM tournaments at SDCC this weekend but not much in terms of videos have come up. Gonna see if I can dig up anything decent to post.
 

Sober

Member
Here's a YT link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJPKhwTFgy4

Good find. Maybe now that official promotional materials say you can finish missions without killing anyone and shit people will shut up about where the stealth went. Still baffling this comes out so late in the marketing cycle though.

I don't know why but maybe they should've gotten the R* lady that narrates their videos instead, lol
 

netBuff

Member
Here's a YT link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJPKhwTFgy4

Good find. Maybe now that official promotional materials say you can finish missions without killing anyone and shit people will shut up about where the stealth went. Still baffling this comes out so late in the marketing cycle though.

I don't know why but maybe they should've gotten the R* lady that narrates their videos instead, lol

Being able to finish the game without killing anyone doesn't in any way necessitate this being a good stealth game. This information is probably coming out so late in the marketing cycle because the game won't be a very good title for stealth enthusiasts such as me. I'm going to get this game day one, but hopes are not very high.
 

Sober

Member
Being able to finish the game without killing anyone doesn't in any way necessitate this being a good stealth game. This information is probably coming out so late in the marketing cycle because the game won't be a very good title for stealth enthusiasts such as me. I'm going to get this game day one, but hopes are not very high.
You are not wrong in saying that, but I guess this is a AAA game in a sense and marketing pure stealth is never going to work out anymore these days.

There are literally maybe two or three articles off the top of my head that is either specifically focused on the stealth aspect of the game (the Sneaky Bastards preview from earlier this month) or actually is about the devs talking about the specifics about designing a game around stealth that (ironically that article is on Gamespot), at least to me, give me the impression they know what they are doing.

I'm not going to either be a stupid naysayer up until the end nor do I really feel like advocating too much because it could flop just as bad (bomba is a discussion for another day). Because that is pretty much the feeling on the official forums where everyone is prepared for the Worst Thing Ever.

I'd say that trailer is new thread-worthy.
Do it! I don't think I have any energy left in me :lol
 
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